In 2002, nearly 9.8 million Mexican residents visited the United States. They spent $5.5 billion in traveling expenses.  Of these visitors, 2.8 million traveled to California and spent $1.5 billion.  Los Angles was the destination of 1.4 million Mexican travelers and the beneficiary of $365 million of tourist spending.  The remaining 7 million Mexicans who traveled to other states accounted for $4 billion of the tourist income from Mexico.  

On average, Mexican travelers spent $571 in the United States.  Mexicans visiting Los Angeles paid out $261 for their traveling expenses and those who visited the rest of California used up $811 of their traveling budget.

Likewise, 8.5 million visitors from the United States traveled to Mexico.  They spent nearly $4.6 billion. Nearly 13 percent of American visitors to Mexico came from California.  They spent $596 million in Mexico is traveling expenses.  Californians of Mexican origin were responsible for $173 million of the state’s tourist spending in Mexico. 

On average, American travelers spent $542 in the United States.  Travelers from California paid out $5411 for their traveling expenses and Californian residents of Mexican origin used up $540 of their traveling budget.

The economic impacts study of $1.4 billion direct expenditures by Mexican visitors to California are estimated at nearly 17,000 new jobs, more than $650 million in local tax revenues, and over $370 million in sales tax revenues.

Sources: United States Department of Commerce, Market Profile, Mexico Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, 2003

J. Cortina, R. de la Garza, S. Bejarno, and A. Wainer, The Economic Impact of Mexico-California Relations, Tomas Rivera Policy Institute